Sandy lingers Tuesday as rain and wind continue

About two inches of rain are expected to fall on the soaked Baltimore region Tuesday morning, and sustained winds could topple more trees as Sandy plods north, forecasters said.

Although the brunt of the massive storm pelted the area overnight, the slow-moving system will continue to dump rain throughout the morning, said Kevin Witt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

"It's going to stay on the wet and windy side the rest of the day," Witt said.

Water levels in eastern Baltimore County are expected to rise four feet above normal levels due to a storm surge, county officials said. Water levels are rising quickly in Millers' Island, Turners Station and Bowley's Quarters, officials said.

A flood warning is in effect for Baltimore City and Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard, Montgomery and Prince George's counties until 10:30 a.m. as rain continues to fall on areas already soaked by 5 to 7 inches of rain over the past two days.

Highways, overpasses, country roads and areas near streambeds are particularly prone to flooding, the weather service warned.

The weather service also declared the eastern shore of the Chesapeake Bay under a flood warning until 1 p.m. Forecasters warned of mild to moderate flooding along the bay and its tidal tributaries.

Sandy, which was reclassified from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone Monday, will continue to sweep strong winds and heavy rains across Central Maryland Tuesday morning, Witt said. Temperatures will remain in the 40s, with wind chills in the 30s.

Another one to one and a half inches of rain are expected to fall between 5 and 9 a.m. and an additional half inch will fall in the late morning, he said. Scattered showers will bring another half inch or so thorughout the day.

Winds of 25 to 35 miles per hour, with gusts up to 50 miles an hour, are expected until 9 a.m. Winds will gradually diminish throughout the day, Witt said.

The meteorologist warned that even moderate winds could knock down trees after such heavy rains.

"The wind could still bring trees down," Witt said. "That's typical when you have a saturated ground and strong winds."